Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, recouping the losses in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,850 level, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology shares.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 33.60 points or 0.39 percent to 8,886.60, after touching a high of 8,885.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 37.40 points or 0.41 percent to 9,158.30. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Mineral Resources is surging more than 4 percent, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue are advancing almost 2 percent each. Oil stocks are mixed. Santos and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent, Appen is advancing almost 4 percent, Zip is adding almost 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.3 percent, while WiseTech Global is edging down 0.3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources and Evolution Mining are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Resolute Mining and Newmont are adding almost 1 percent each. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while ANZ Banking is losing more than 1 percent. Westpac is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.667 on Tuesday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The Nasdaq jumped 207.65 points or 0.9 percent to 22,348.75 and the S&P 500 climbed 30.99 points or 0.5 percent to 6,615.28. The narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, inching up 49.23 points or 0.1 percent to 45,883.45.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index jumped by 0.9 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices moved sharply higher on Monday amid brewing Middle East tensions and the heightening Russia-Ukraine war even as softening demand concerns surface. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $0.58 or 0.93 percent at $63.27 per barrel.